How much would you expect to pay on average these days....

[Nicole]

.... for the Leica M6 TTL lenses such as....

.... the 35mm Summicron lens
.... the 90mm lens

What would you think is a fair price for second hand lenses in good condition?

Thank you, kind regards, Nicole

 

[Mick Fagan]

A friend bought an f2.0 Summicron-M Aspheric for his M7 last year for $1,650.00 AUD last year.

I don't know where he bought it from, but I know that's what he paid for it.

The reason I know this, is because he sold his old Subaru ute for $1,500 to pay for it and needed a loan of $150.00 which he got from his very understanding girlfriend.

That should give you a ball park figure, but this lens was, I believe, on the cheap side, which is why he sold his ute to a car yard inside ½ an hour of hearing about this lens being for sale, then he rang his girlfriend, who happened to be in my darkroom when she took the call.

I'm basically a Nikon person, that is about the extent of my current Leica knowledge.

Mick.

 

[David H. Bebbington]

As I am sure you know, the M6 has been around for a while, the Summicrons even longer (more than 40 years in at least 3 iterations). It is easy to date cameras and lenses by their serial numbers (I and probably many other APUGers have lists). A relatively expensive but good shop in London has these prices:
http://www.richardcaplan.co.uk/secondhand.htm#PRE OWNED LEICA M
As I am sure you are also aware, the Leica experience is also available under the Voigtländer name. There is also the question of whether you need the (considerable) weight of a 90 Summicron, whether you will ever shoot at f2 and whether this lens is capable of being focused totally accurately at full aperture. Another consideration is servicing - I know nothing about Leica service in Australia, if this is hard to find, you might like to buy a fully-serviced camera from a dealer - this will then keep going for a long time without attention.

Regards,

David

 

[micek]

It is not what you have asked for, but it might help: a 40mm f2 Minolta Rokkor (originally for the M-mount Minolta CLE) is an excellent very sharp lens that usually goes for about 250 USD, and the 90mm f4 Elmar-C might be a bit slow, but it is very small and light and an excellent lens as well that also goes for about 250 USD. You won't be disappointed with either of them.

 

[rbarker]

FWIW, Nicole, I've found KEH Camera Exchange (Dead Link Removed) to be a fairly good price indicator. Their prices will be somewhat higher than what can be found on eBay, but their condition ratings are conservative, and they have a decent return policy.

KEH is showing a range of $850-$1,300 for the 35 'Cron, around $1000 for the 90mm Cron, and $400-$1,000 for the 90mm Elmarit.

 

[waynecrider]

FWIW, Nicole, I've found KEH Camera Exchange (Dead Link Removed) to be a fairly good price indicator. Their prices will be somewhat higher than what can be found on eBay, but their condition ratings are conservative, and they have a decent return policy.

KEH is showing a range of $850-$1,300 for the 35 'Cron, around $1000 for the 90mm Cron, and $400-$1,000 for the 90mm Elmarit.

I agree with Mr Barker. What I have noticed is that sometimes I've found KEH to have better prices then Ebay, depending, so shopping both would be prudent. For the exchange policy tho KEH is better.

 

[Claire Senft]

If you want the best Leica has to offer than the current generation lenses are pretty much a requirement..does not have to be new. It would be hard to go wrong with a set of Asph Summicrons. I have no idea what they would cost. I would recommend going to ebay and checking out completed auctions.